Operation method and system of mobile terminal

ABSTRACT

An operation method and a mobile terminal connected to an electronic device are provided. A user input is received for selecting a piece of content displayed on a display of the electronic device. The display displays a user interface including one or more items available at the mobile terminal based on the selected piece of content. A user selection of one of the one or more items included in the displayed user interface is received. The selected piece of content and a command for executing a function of the selected item at the mobile terminal are transmitted to the terminal. The display displays a sending user interface indicating that the mobile terminal executes the function of the selected item.

PRIORITY

This application is a Continuation Application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/113,571, filed in the U.S. Patent and TrademarkOffice (USPTO) on Aug. 27, 2018, which is a Continuation Application ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/790,521, filed in the USPTO on Oct.23, 2017, and is now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,063,682 on Aug. 28,2018, which is a Continuation Application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/132,877, filed in the USPTO on Apr. 19, 2016, and is nowissued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,800,708 on Oct. 24, 2017, which is aContinuation Application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/252,310,filed in the USPTO on Apr. 14, 2014, and is now issued as U.S. Pat. No.9,332,110 on May 3, 2016, which is a Continuation Application of andclaims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/706,591, filed in the USPTO on Feb. 16, 2010, and is now issuedas U.S. Pat. No. 8,725,209 on May 13, 2014, which claims priority under35 U.S.C. § 119(a) to a Korean Patent Application filed in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office on Feb. 13, 2009 and assigned Serial No.10-2009-0012155, and to a Korean Patent Application filed in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office on Mar. 31, 2009 and assigned Serial No.10-2009-0027864, the entire disclosure of each of which is incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a mobile communicationterminal (or “mobile terminal”), and more particularly, to a method andsystem in which a mobile terminal connected to an arbitrary electronicdevice interacts with the arbitrary electronic device.

2. Description of the Related Art

With the general use of mobile terminals and the development of theirfunctions, applications which have been implemented in electronicdevices such as a computer, a television and a Portable MultimediaPlayer (PMP) are now available even in mobile terminals, and functionalapplications of mobile terminals can also be executed in a computer. Inaddition, there is an increase in number of applications which areexecuted through interaction between a mobile terminal and a computer.

For example, such applications may include an application fortransmitting various information stored in a computer, such as contactinformation, schedule information, photo files, music files, video filesand Internet bookmark information, to a mobile terminal, and anapplication for downloading images and the like stored in a mobileterminal into a computer. For execution of these applications, thecomputer and the mobile terminal should be connected to each other in awired or wireless manner, and synchronization may be achieved to keepthe latest information between the two devices. Also, there is anapplication for delivering digital multimedia broadcast data received ina mobile terminal to a connected television to display the receivedbroadcast data on the television.

As another example, there is an application, with which a computer sendsmessages based on Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia MessageService (MMS) which are functions of mobile terminals. Accordingly, auser may send SMS messages or MMS messages from a computer connected tothe Internet to mobile terminals of other users. Since the user sendsmessages based on SMS provided by a separate external service systemwithout using his/her own mobile terminal, it is common that the usershould subscribe to the SMS service before sending the messages.

MMS generally transmits data generated by and/or stored in a mobileterminal, for example, photo files created by photographing with amobile terminal. However, in some cases, a user, who is using acomputer, may send images stored in the computer to mobile terminals ofother users. In this case, as in SMS, the user uses the system aftersubscribing to the separate service system providing MMS, without usinghis/her mobile terminal. Also, the user may download desired images tothe mobile terminal and then send them using an MMS function of themobile terminal.

In order to send text to other mobile terminals, the user can use aseparate messaging service that is accessible via a computer. The useris usually required to subscribe to the separate messaging service.

If a user sends messages to other mobile terminals over his/her ownmobile terminal without using the separate messaging service accessiblevia a computer, the user directly inputs the content displayed on acomputer screen to the mobile terminal using a keypad of the terminal,causing inconvenience.

A more complex process is required when a user, who is using a computer,delivers images on some areas of a computer screen to his/her own mobileterminal, or transmits the images to other mobile terminals throughhis/her own mobile terminal.

First, an image to be transmitted among the data displayed on a computerscreen is stored in the computer as a particular image file. Thecomputer and a mobile terminal are connected in a wired or wirelessmanner, and the stored image file is downloaded to the mobile terminal.Thereafter, if it is desired to send a message by MMS, the mobileterminal executes an MMS function, attaches the downloaded image file tothe message, inputs a phone number of a receiving mobile terminal, andsends the message.

In this case, due to the complex procedure, only a person with a certainlevel of knowledge about a file download method between the computer andthe mobile terminal can store a particular image file in his/her mobileterminal.

Besides, the user needs to directly input a phone number to the mobileterminal even when dialing a phone number displayed on the computerscreen or sending an SMS message and an MMS message to the phone number.

In the above examples, the user is required to input many charactersusing a small keypad on the mobile terminal, causing inconvenience, andthere is a possibility that characters or phone numbers may be wronglyinput. In addition, the user must check both the computer screen and themobile terminal screen.

If a user wants to output an image file stored in a mobile terminalusing a printer connected to a computer, the user needs to firstdownload the image file from the mobile terminal to the computer. Thenthe user needs to run an application required to print an image file bymanipulating the computer, search for the image file, and make a requestto print the image file through the printer. That is, the user mustmanipulate both the mobile terminal and the computer in order to printimage files stored in the mobile terminal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present invention is to address at least theabove-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at leastthe advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the presentinvention provides a method and system in which a user may operatefunctions of a mobile terminal without directly manipulating the mobileterminal.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a method and system inwhich, in a mobile terminal, a user may easily use content displayed onand/or stored in an electronic device that is connected to the mobileterminal in a wired or wireless manner.

A further another aspect of the present invention provides a method andsystem in which a user executes an operation associated with a functionof a mobile terminal in a separate electronic device by manipulatingonly the mobile terminal in the state where the electronic device andthe mobile terminal are connected.

Yet another aspect of the present invention provides a method and systemin which an event that has occurred in a mobile terminal may be executedin a separate electronic device connected to the mobile terminal.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an electronicdevice is provided that includes a display, a wireless communicationinterface, and at least one processor. The at least one processor isconfigured to control the wireless communication interface tocommunicate with a mobile device over a Wireless Local Area Network(WLAN), control the display to display content on a web browserapplication, and obtain a user input for selecting a piece of contentfrom the displayed content on the web browser application. The at leastone processor is also configured to, based on the selected piece ofcontent, control the display to display, on the web browser application,a menu including a plurality of items which respectively correspond to aplurality of functions. The at least one processor is further configuredto obtain a user selection for one of the plurality of items included inthe menu displayed on the web browser application, control the wirelesscommunication interface to transmit, toward the mobile device over WLAN,information corresponding to the selected piece of content to execute afunction corresponding to the selected one of the plurality of items atthe mobile device, and control the display to display a user interfaceindicating that the mobile device is executing the functioncorresponding to the selected one of the plurality of items.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method ofan electronic device is provided in which a wireless communicationinterface of the electronic device communicates with a mobile deviceover a WLAN. Content is displayed on a web browser application on adisplay of the electronic device. A user input is obtained for selectinga piece of content from the displayed content on the web browserapplication. Based on the selected piece of content, the web browserapplication displays a menu including a plurality of items whichrespectively correspond to a plurality of functions. A user selectionfor one of the plurality of items included in the menu displayed on theweb browser application is obtained. Information corresponding to theselected piece of content is transmitted toward the mobile device overthe WLAN to execute a function corresponding to the selected one of theplurality of items at the mobile device. A user interface is displayedindicating that the mobile device is executing the functioncorresponding to the selected one of the plurality of items.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certainexemplary embodiments of the present invention will be more apparentfrom the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating configurations of a computer and amobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a computer accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a mobile terminalaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 5 to 16 are flow diagrams illustrating operations of a computerand a mobile terminal according to various embodiments of the presentinvention; and

FIGS. 17, 18, 19A-19C, 20A-20C, and 21 are diagrams illustrating screensdisplayed on a computer and a mobile terminal according to variousembodiments of the present invention.

Throughout the drawings, the same drawing reference numerals will beunderstood to refer to the same elements, features and structures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings isprovided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of exemplaryembodiments of the invention as defined by the claims and theirequivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in thatunderstanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the embodiments described hereincan be made without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions andconstructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.

According to embodiments of the present invention, in the state where aseparate electronic device and a mobile terminal are connected, a usermay operate functions of the mobile terminal by manipulating only theelectronic device without manipulating the mobile terminal, or executeoperations associated with functions of the mobile terminal in theelectronic device by manipulating only the mobile terminal.

The electronic device refers to a device that can enable dataprocessing, execute at least one application independently, and displayor store the data generated by the application execution, and theelectronic device includes a minimum user input unit. Such electronicdevices include computers, televisions, PMPs, Personal DigitalAssistants (PDA), electronic dictionaries, mobile terminals, digitalmultimedia receivers, electronic book terminals, etc.

According to the present invention, an electronic device may delivercontent and a functional application command of a mobile terminal thatwill execute the content, which are selected by a user, to the mobileterminal, and the mobile terminal may execute the functional applicationusing the provided content. If a user selects arbitrary content fromamong content displayed on and/or stored in the electronic device, andselects a functional application and its associated command of themobile terminal that will execute the content, then the electronicdevice delivers them to the mobile terminal and the mobile terminalexecutes the functional application corresponding to the command usingthe received content.

An event that has occurred in a mobile terminal may be delivered to anelectronic device connected to the mobile terminal so that a user mayrespond to the event using the electronic device. An operation for theresponse may be executed in the mobile terminal or in both the mobileterminal and the electronic device in an interactive manner.

If the user delivers a particular command to the connected electronicdevice by manipulating the mobile terminal, the electronic device mayexecute an application associated with a function of the mobile terminalaccording to the command.

An example of a system to which the present invention is applicable isshown in FIG. 1, in which a computer 100, i.e. an electronic device, isconnected to a mobile terminal 200.

The computer 100 includes an interactive service application 140, acontent extractor 130, a phone service application 120, a device agent110, a user input device (not shown), and a display device (not shown).

The user input device is a device by which a user may input data, andmay include, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, etc.

The interactive service application 140 is an application for allowingthe computer 100 and the mobile terminal 200 to execute an operationassociated with a function of the mobile terminal 200 in an interactivemanner. The interactive service application 140 sets an interactiveservice mode during its execution. In order to allow the mobile terminal200 to use content that is displayed on a screen by an arbitraryapplication being executed in the computer 100, or content such as adata file being used by a particular application, by means of multiplefunctional applications of the mobile terminal 200 connected to thecomputer 100, the interactive service application 140 provides a selectindicator for allowing a user to select content and a context menu forallowing the user to select a functional application of the mobileterminal 200. The select indicator may include, for example, a cursor, amouse pointer, a select window, and the like. The select window is anindicator for adjusting and deciding a size of an image to be capturedon a screen of the computer 100. The context menu includes a menu itemcorresponding to each of the multiple functional applications of themobile terminal 200, a menu item for data transmission/reception betweenthe computer 100 and the mobile terminal 200, and a search menu capableof searching for various data files stored in the computer 100. The menuitems may include menu items corresponding to, for example, callsending, SMS sending/receiving, MMS sending/receiving, memo writing,etc. and the various data files may include an image file, a music file,a video file, a text file, and the like. This context menu may beprovided in the form of a tool bar.

Further, the interactive service application 140 invokes the contentextractor 130 during its execution, and invokes the phone serviceapplication 120 according to a user input.

The content extractor 130 extracts data that the user selected using theselect indicator, from among data that is displayed on the screen as anarbitrary application is executed in the computer 100, and from a datafile being used in an application being executed, and delivers theextracted data to the phone service application 120 after converting theextracted data into an appropriate format.

For example, if a user selects text using a cursor or a mouse pointer inthe state where a web browser is executed and an arbitrary web page isdisplayed, the content extractor 130 extracts the selected text,configures execution data including the extracted text, and delivers theconfigured execution data to the phone service application 120. Thecontent extractor 130 may also extract text or an image from a displayedtext file in the state where a text application is executed. As anotherexample, if the user selects a music file play application using a mousepointer in the state where an arbitrary music file is being played bythe music file play application, the content extractor 130 may searchthe memory of the computer 100 for the music file being played, extractthe searched music file from the memory, and configure execution dataincluding the extracted music file.

If the content extraction is completed, the content extractor 130 mayprovide at least one functional application item of the mobile terminal200, which can use the extracted content, according to a type of theextracted content. As in the example above, if text is selected, thecontent extractor 130 determines whether the selected text is a phonenumber consisting of a number. If so, the content extractor 130 mayprovide at least one of call sending/receiving, SMS sending, and MMSsending items. If execution of a particular functional application isgranted or selected by the user, the content extractor 130 furtherincludes information about the functional application in the executiondata and delivers the execution data to the phone service application120.

Also, even if the user searches for and selects a data file stored inthe computer 100 by means of the search menu provided in the contextmenu without using the select indicator, the content extractor 130 mayprovide at least one functional application of the mobile terminal 200,which can use the selected data file.

If the user selects a particular functional application by means of thecontext menu in a state where the user has not selected any contentusing the select indicator or the search menu, the content extractor 130may configure execution data including only information about theselected functional application. Thereafter, the content extractor 130may include in the execution data content that is selected or createdaccording to a user input, for example, a select indicator, a user'sdirect input, or a search for data stored in the computer 100. Thecontent inclusion may be achieved by the content extractor 130 or thephone service application 120.

The execution data may include information about a functionalapplication to be executed in the mobile terminal 200, informationneeded for execution of the functional application, and content selectedby the user. The execution data may be configured as shown in Table 1according to an embodiment of the present invention.

TABLE 1 Item Length Example Type 1 line SMS sending MMS sending Memowriting/reading Call sending Name 1 line John Doe Phone Number 1 line010-1234-5678 Attached File 1 line 20090123134400328.jpg Date 1 line20090123134400 (13:44:00, Jan. 23, 2009) URL 1 line http://www.abcd.net/Tag, Keyword 1 line address, memo Content 1 line text data

Referring to Table 1, a Type field includes information indicating atype and a command of a functional application of a mobile terminal,which are selected by the user. A name list of a receiving user isstored in a Name field, and a receiving phone number list is stored in aPhone Number field. An Attached File field may include content selectedby the user. A time at which the execution data was configured is storedin a Date field, and if content is extracted from a web browser, arelevant Uniform Resource Locator (URL) address may be stored in a URLfield. Separate data input from the user is stored in a Tag, Keywordfield, and content in text form, selected by the user, may be stored ina Content field.

In the execution data, a field including the content selected by theuser is not fixedly defined, and the selected content may be included inan appropriate field according to a type of the content. For example,the content is included in the Phone Number field if its type is a phonenumber, and the content is included in the Content field if its type isa general string. In addition, the content will be included in theAttached File field if its type is an image file or a music file.Accordingly, only the information necessary for a type of a functionalapplication to be executed will be stored in a related field.

Other information except for a type and a command of a functionalapplication of a mobile terminal and an extracted content, which arestored in the Type field, may be expressed as additional information ofthe application.

The phone service application 120 provides the user with a userinterface corresponding to each functional application of the mobileterminal 200 and a user interface for a data transmission/receptionfunction between the computer 100 and the mobile terminal 200, therebyinducing an additional input of the user if needed, or providing theuser with information about the progress of a functional applicationbeing executed in interaction with the mobile terminal 200. Therefore,the phone service application 120 may provide a user interface for anassociated functional application based on information included in theexecution data provided from the content extractor 130. If an end isinput by the user, the phone service application 120 may deliver theexecution data with a functional application command to the device agent110.

The device agent 110 manages a connection between computer 100 and themobile terminal 200, processes execution data received from the phoneservice application 120, and delivers the execution data to a phoneagent 210 in the mobile terminal 200 in interaction with the phone agent210 in the mobile terminal 200. The device agent 110 may download aphone book or phone number database stored in the mobile terminal 200,and manage the phone book.

While the computer 100 serves as an example of an electronic device inFIG. 1, the interactive service application 140, the content extractor130, the phone service application 120 and the device agent 110 mayoperate in a similar manner regardless of the electronic device in whichthey are installed. Although a computer will be designated as an exampleof the electronic device in the following description, the electronicdevice shall not be limited to a computer.

A configuration of the computer 100 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention is shown in FIG. 2. Referring to FIG. 2, theinteractive service application 140 in the computer 100 includes a toolbar 141 and a context menu 142, which provide the above-described menusprovided in the context menu and a menu capable of designating a type ofa select indicator.

The phone service application 120 may include a call sender/receiverapplication 121, an SMS sender/receiver application 122, an MMSsender/receiver application 123, an image capture application 124, amemo viewer application 125, a memo writer application 126, and an FileTransfer Protocol (FTP) client 127, which correspond to respectivefunctional applications of the mobile terminal 200. Although not shownin the drawings, the phone service application 120 may include variousother functional applications executed in the mobile terminal 200,including, for example, a video call application, a music file playapplication, and a camera application.

The call sender/receiver application 121 is activated if callsending/receiving is designated as a type in a request of theinteractive service application 140 or in execution data provided fromthe content extractor 130. The call sender/receiver application 121 mayprovide a user interface that sends a call to a phone number carried onthe execution data or a phone number corresponding to a name, and maydeliver execution data with a call send command to the device agent 110.

The SMS sender/receiver application 122 is activated if SMS isdesignated as a type in a request of the interactive service application140 or in execution data provided from the content extractor 130. TheSMS sender/receiver application 122 may display an SMS sending userinterface with text included in the execution data displayed on the SMSsending user interface. The SMS sender/receiver application 122 deliversexecution data including an SMS send command, an SMS body text and anSMS receiving number list to the device agent 110 in response to userinput.

The MMS sender/receiver application 123 is activated if MMS isdesignated as a type in a request of the interactive service application140 or in execution data provided from the content extractor 130. TheMMS sender/receiver application 123 may display an MMS sending userinterface with a text or an attached file included in the execution datadisplayed on the MMS sending user interface. The MMS sender/receiverapplication 123 delivers execution data including an MMS send command,MMS content and an MMS receiving number list to the device agent 110 inresponse to user input.

The image capture application 124 is an application that is activated tocapture an image on a screen of the computer 100 with a select window.Upon receiving execution data in which a captured image file is includedand a memo application is designated as a type, the image captureapplication 124 delivers the received execution data to the memo writerapplication 126. The memo writer application 126 displays a userinterface on which a captured image, related URL information, timeinformation and the like are displayed and which requires the user toenter a keyword. The memo writer application 126 delivers execution dataincluding a memo write command, a captured image, an associated URL,time information, etc. to the device agent 110 based on user input.

The memo viewer application 125 fetches files stored in the mobileterminal 200 via the FTP client 127 and displays the files.

The device agent 110 may include a connection manager 112 and a phonebook manager 111. The connection manager 112 manages a connectionbetween the computer 100 and the mobile terminal 200 in interaction witha connection manager 211 in the mobile terminal 200. The phone bookmanager 111 downloads a phone book or phone number database stored inthe mobile terminal 200, and synchronizes phone book information storedin the computer 100 with phone book information stored in the mobileterminal 200.

Turning back to FIG. 1, the mobile terminal 200 includes the phone agent210, a phone application 220, a user input unit (not shown), a displayunit (not shown), a Radio Frequency (RF) unit (not shown), and a memoryunit (not shown) according to an embodiment of the present invention.The user input unit may include a keypad, a touch pad, or the like, andthe RF unit is responsible for transmission/reception and processing ofradio signals. The memory unit stores various program data required tooperate and control the mobile terminal 200, reference data, updatablearchival data, etc. and the memory unit is provided as a working memory.

The phone application 220 includes various functional applicationscorresponding to respective functions to execute a variety of functionsprovided in the mobile terminal 200, and also includes an applicationfor exchanging data with the computer 100.

The phone agent 210 performs communication with the device agent 110 inthe computer 100 in a wired or wireless manner and delivers executiondata received from the device agent 110 to the phone application 220 sothat a proper functional application may be executed by the phoneapplication 220.

That is, the phone application 220 executes a functional applicationdesignated by execution data provided from the phone agent 210, usingparticular content included in the execution data. For example, uponreceiving execution data with a call send command designated in theexecution data, the phone application 220 sends a call to a phone numberincluded in the execution data.

The phone agent 210 manages a wire/wireless connection between themobile terminal 200 and the computer 100. The wire connection mayinclude a connection via a data cable, and the wireless connection mayinclude a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). In accordance with anembodiment of the present invention, the phone agent 210 manages a phonebook or phone number database stored in the mobile terminal 200 andshares information about the phone book with the computer 100.

An example of the configuration of the mobile terminal 200 is shown inFIG. 2. Referring to FIG. 2, the phone agent 210 may include theconnection manager 211 and a phone book manager 212. The connectionmanager 211 manages a connection between the computer 100 and the mobileterminal 200 in interaction with the connection manager 112 in thecomputer 100. The phone book manager 212 manages a phone book or phonenumber database stored in the mobile terminal 200, and sharesinformation about the phone book with the computer 100.

The phone application 220 in the mobile terminal 200 may include an FTPserver 221, a call sender/receiver application 222, an SMSsender/receiver application 223, an MMS sender/receiver application 224,and a memo viewer application 225. Although not shown in the drawing,the phone application 220 may include various other functionalapplications executed in the mobile terminal 200, including, forexample, a video call application, a music file play application, and acamera application.

Each of the applications performs a proper operation according to afunctional application designated by execution data received from thephone agent 210.

For example, the call sender/receiver application 222 sends a call to aphone number provided from the phone agent 210. The SMS sender/receiverapplication 223 sends text provided from the phone agent 210 and an SMSmessage to each phone number in an SMS receiving number list, anddisplays a user interface for monitoring the operations. The MMSsender/receiver application 224 sends text or an attached file providedfrom the phone agent 210 to each phone number in an MMS receiving numberlist, and displays a user interface for monitoring the operations. Thememo viewer application 225 displays on a user interface memos providedfrom the phone agent 210, including, for example, a captured image, anassociated URL, time information, and a keyword. A user may scan orsearch previously received memos with a search button on the userinterface.

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, a description will be made ofoperations of the computer 100 and the mobile terminal 200 according toan embodiment of the present invention in the state where the computer100 and the mobile terminal 200 are connected in a wired or wirelessmanner.

If an interactive service mode is set in the computer 100 as a user runsthe interactive service application 140, the interactive serviceapplication 140 in the computer 100 provides a select indicator. Theuser may select desired content among the data displayed on the computer100 using the select indicator. For example, in a state where a web pageis displayed as a web browser is executed, the user may select aparticular number string by dragging a number string in the web pageusing a mouse pointer in step 11. Then the content extractor 130automatically extracts the content selected by the user, i.e., thenumber string, and identifies its type in step 13. Depending on the typeof the content, the content extractor 130 provides a functionalapplication item of the mobile terminal 200 capable of using the contentin step 15. If the content is a number string as in the above example,menu items including call sending, SMS sending and MMS sending may beprovided. The user selects an application corresponding to any one ofthese menu items in step 17. In response, the content extractor 130configures execution data that corresponds to selected function andcommand and includes the extracted content in interaction with the phoneservice application 120, and delivers the execution data to the mobileterminal 200 via the device agent 110 in step 19.

Then the mobile terminal 200 receives the execution data via the phoneagent 210 in an interactive service mode in step 31. The phone agent 210identifies a functional application and a command of the mobile terminal200, which correspond to the execution data, and delivers the functionalapplication and command to the phone application 220 in step 33. Thephone application 220 executes the functional application and commandusing the content included in the execution data in step 35.

For example, upon receiving execution data in which Call Sending isdesignated and which includes a phone number, the mobile terminal 200performs a call to the phone number.

While it has been described in the above example that the user firstselects content and then selects its associated functional application,the user may first select a functional application and then selectcontent. In this case, if the user selects a particular functionalapplication by means of the tool bar 141 or the context menu 142, thecontent extractor 130 configures execution data including informationabout the particular functional application and delivers the executiondata to the phone service application 120. In response, the phoneservice application 120 provides a user interface for the functionalapplication. Thereafter, content selected or input by the user shall beincluded in the execution data.

A phone event, such as call receiving, message receiving and alarming,may occur in the mobile terminal 200. Operations of the mobile terminal200 and the computer 100 in this case are shown in FIG. 5. The phoneevent is an event that occurs in the mobile terminal 200 with respect toan operation of a functional application provided in the mobile terminal200. The phone event includes both an event occurring based on the datareceived externally, such as call receiving and message receiving, andan event occurring based on an internal operation, such as an alarm,power shortage alert and/or schedule alert.

Referring to FIG. 5, if a phone event occurs in the mobile terminal 200in step 71, the phone application 220 detects and delivers the phoneevent to the phone agent 210, and the phone agent 210 delivers the phoneevent to the device agent 110 in step 73. The device agent 110 deliversthe phone event received from the phone agent 210 to the phone serviceapplication 120, and the phone service application 120 displays thephone event by activating a functional application associated with thereceived phone event in step 75. Accordingly, the user may check thephone event and then input a response thereto to the computer 100through a user input device of the computer 100. Upon detecting theresponse in step 77, the phone service application 120 in the computer100 delivers the response to the mobile terminal 200 and executes afunctional application corresponding to the phone event in interactionwith the mobile terminal 200 in step 79.

For example, in the case of a call receiving event, if the user respondswith the computer 100, the computer 100 sends a call receive response tothe mobile terminal 200, so that a call channel is connected in themobile terminal 200. The mobile terminal 200 delivers a voice signalreceived over the call channel to the computer 100 so that the voicesignal may be output through a speaker of the computer 100. The computer100 may deliver a voice signal received through a microphone to themobile terminal 200 so that the voice signal may be delivered to theother party through the mobile terminal 200. In other words, the usermay respond to a call received at the mobile terminal 200 and talk tothe caller, using the computer 100.

While overall operations of the computer 100 and the mobile terminal 200have been described so far, specific embodiments of the presentinvention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 21.

Referring to FIG. 6, in the state where the computer 100 and the mobileterminal 200 are connected in a wired or wireless manner, if aninteractive service mode is set as the interactive service application140 is executed, the device agent 110 sends a request for phone bookdata to the phone agent 210, and in response, the phone agent 210delivers a phone book and a call history to the device agent 110, sothat phone book synchronization may be achieved between the computer 100and the mobile terminal 200, in steps 301 and 303. A detailed operationregarding this is shown in FIG. 7.

Referring to FIG. 7, the connection manager 112 in the device agent 110sends a Hello command to the connection manager 211 in the phone agent210 to request connection check in step 401. Upon receiving the Hellocommand, the connection manager 211 in the phone agent 210 sends a HelloACKnowledgement (ACK) to the device agent 210 in step 403. Thereafter,the connection manager 112 in the device agent 110 sends a request for aphone book to the phone agent 210 in step 405. The phone book manager212 in the phone agent 210 delivers all address book information orphone book information in the mobile terminal 200 to the device agent110 via the connection manager 211, and the device agent 110 stores thereceived phone book information in the phone book manager 111 in step407. The phone book manager 212 in the phone agent 210 delivers the lastcall log and the frequent call log in the mobile terminal 200 to thedevice agent 110 via the connection manager 211, and the device agent110 stores the received phone book information in the phone book manager111 in steps 409 and 411. Once all the data is stored, the device agent110 sends an ACK to the phone agent 210.

In the above process, a data format of phone book informationtransmitted and received by the phone agent 210 and the device agent 110may be configured as shown in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Item Example Last Name Park First Name Seri Group SamsungElectronics Phone Number 010-234-5678

A process of terminating the connection between the phone agent 210 andthe device agent 110 is shown in FIG. 8. Referring to FIG. 8, theconnection manager 112 in the device agent 110 sends a Stop command tothe connection manager 211 in the phone agent 210 to request connectiontermination in step 451. In response thereto, the connection manager 211in the phone agent 210 sends a Stop ACK to the connection manager 112 inthe device agent 110 in step 453, thereby terminating the connection.

Turning back to FIG. 6, after the phone book synchronization iscompleted, a user 230 may select a web content such as text, an imageand a hyperlink on the content or web page displayed on a computerscreen 240 in steps 305 and 307. The content extractor 130 extracts theselected content such as a name, a phone number, a simple string, a URLand an image in step 309, and delivers data to each functionalapplication according to user preferences in step 311. Accordingly, thephone service application 120 generates an additional input according touser preferences or requests a phone book, if necessary, to therebyreceive a phone number list and select a recipient, in interaction withthe device agent 110 in step 315. After configuring execution dataincluding functional application information and recipient informationthrough this process, the service application 120 delivers the executiondata to the phone agent 210 via the device agent 110 in steps 319 and321. The phone agent 210 identifies a functional application included inthe received execution data, invokes the functional application, anddelivers the content included in the execution data to the phoneapplication 220 to execute SMS sending, MMS sending, memo storing, callsending, etc. in steps 323 and 325. Thereafter, the phone application220 generates an ACK and sends it up to the phone service application120 via the phone agent 210 and the device agent 110 in step 327. Theresults can be displayed on a User Interface (UI) in step 329.

While it has been described that the above process extracts content inthe computer 100 and delivers the content to the mobile terminal 200along with an application command to be executed, the process ofdelivering a command associated with execution of a functionalapplication from the computer 100 to the mobile terminal 200 may besimplified as shown in FIG. 9. Referring to FIG. 9, the phone serviceapplication 120 configures execution data including a command for afunctional application to be executed and content, in interaction withthe content extractor 130, and delivers the execution data to the phoneagent 210 via the device agent 110 in steps 501 and 503. The phone agent210 sends the content along with the command to the phone application220 based on the received execution data in step 505. The phoneapplication 220 executes or processes the provided command and contentin step 507, and sends an ACK indicating the completed execution of thecommand up to the phone service application 120 via the phone agent 210and the device agent 110 in step 509. The execution of the command andcontent may include, for example, call sending, message sending, memostoring, and/or address book adding.

FIGS. 10 and 17 are diagrams showing a process of automatically sendinga call request to the mobile terminal 200 when a string is selected in aweb page according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 17, in a state where a web page is displayed on thecomputer 100, if a user input occurs that holds a cursor or a mousepointer on a string for a predetermined time, the content extractor 130extracts the string “060-524-3849” selected by the user. The contentextractor 130 determines that the extracted string is a phone number ifthe extracted string consists of numbers and special characters used forexpressing a phone number. For example, since “060-524-3849” consists ofnumbers and the special characters “-”, it may be determined to be aphone number. A type of the special characters indicating a phone numberis predefined. If the extracted string is determined as a phone number,the content extractor 130 extracts only the number string from theextracted string after removing the special characters. As shown inTable 3, the content extractor 130 configures execution data thatincludes the extracted phone number as a recipient number. A type of theexecution data is automatically designated as Call Sending.

TABLE 3 Item Length Content Type 1 line Call Sending Name 1 line PhoneNumber 1 line 0605243849 Attached File 1 line Date 1 line 20090123134400URL 1 line http://map.google.com/ Tag, Keyword 1 line Content 1 line

As shown in FIG. 10, the content extractor 130 delivers the executiondata configured as shown in Table 3 to the call sender/receiverapplication 121 in step 551. Upon receiving the execution data, the callsender/receiver application 121 displays a call sending (or phone call)user interface 801 indicating ‘call connecting’ as shown in FIG. 17, anddelivers the execution data to the connection manager 112 in the deviceagent 110 to request call sending in step 553. The device agent 110delivers the execution data to the phone agent 210 to request callsending in step 555. Upon receiving the execution data shown in Table 3,the phone agent 210 delivers the execution data to the callsender/receiver application 222 to request call sending in step 557. Inresponse, the call sender/receiver application 222 sends a call to thephone number included in the execution data, and sends a Call ACKindicating the execution of a call send command to the callsender/receiver application 121 via the phone agent 210 and the deviceagent 110 in step 559. A call channel is formed if there is a responsefrom a recipient after the call is sent, and a voice signal to betransmitted over the call channel is delivered to the computer 100.Therefore, the user may perform a call on the computer 100.

With reference to FIGS. 11 and 18, a description will be made of anembodiment in which the string selected by the user is not a phonenumber but a name.

Referring to FIG. 18, if a mouse pointer is located on a name “Alice”811 by the user, the content extractor 130 extracts a stringcorresponding to the name “Alice” 811, configures execution data withthe extracted string as shown in Table 4, and delivers the executiondata to the call sender/receiver application 121 in step 601.

TABLE 4 Item Length Content Type 1 line Call Sending Name 1 line AlicePhone Number 1 line Attached File 1 line Date 1 line 20090123134400 URL1 line http://map.google.com/ Tag, Keyword 1 line Content 1 line

Since Call Sending is designated and only the name is included in theexecution data, the call sender/receiver application 121 requests thephone book manager 111 in the device agent 110 to search for a phonenumber using a name in step 603. The phone book manager 111 searches fora phone number using the provided name, and delivers a number list tothe call sender/receiver application 121 in step 605. If there is nomatching name in the phone book, the phone book manager 111 sends asearch failure message. The call sender/receiver application 121displays the number list, so that the user may select a number ordetermine whether a correct number has been located. If Select or OK isinput by the user in step 607, the call sender/receiver application 121adds the selected phone number to the execution data shown in Table 4and delivers the execution data to the device agent 110 to send a callrequest in step 609. At this time, the call sender/receiver application121 displays a call sending user interface 813 that indicates callsending to the phone number as shown in FIG. 18. The device agent 110delivers the received execution data to the phone agent 210 to requestcall sending in step 611, and the phone agent 210 delivers the receivedexecution data to the call sender/receiver application 222 to requestcall sending in step 613. In response, the call sender/receiverapplication 222 sends a call to the phone number included in theexecution data, and sends a Call ACK indicating the execution of a callsend command to the call sender/receiver application 121 via the phoneagent 210 and the device agent 110 in step 615. A call channel is formedif there is a response from a recipient after the call is sent, and avoice signal to be transmitted over the call channel is delivered to thecomputer 100. Therefore, the user may perform a call on the computer100.

Next, a process of sending an SMS message will be described withreference to FIGS. 12 and 19A to 19C. While it has been described in theabove embodiment that a functional application associated with thecontent selected by the user is automatically provided, execution datamay be configured after the user selects content and a functionalapplication to use. As shown in FIG. 19A, in the state where a web pageis displayed, if the user selects a string by dragging a mouse andselects an SMS sending context menu located in a tool bar 823, thecontent extractor 130 extracts the text selected by the user, configuresexecution data with the extracted text as shown in Table 5, and deliversthe execution data to the SMS sender/receiver application 122 in step651.

TABLE 5 Item Length Content Type 1 line SMS Sending Name 1 line PhoneNumber 1 line Attached File 1 line Date 1 line URL 1 line Tag, Keyword 1line Content 1 line Alice +34-60-524-3849 Welcome to Phone PCConvergence Solution! PPC creates a new mobile experience.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 19B, the SMS sender/receiver application122 displays an SMS sending user interface 825 on which the selectedtext or content is displayed as the contents of an SMS message and bywhich the user may input a recipient phone number and additional data.The user, as shown in FIG. 19B, may directly input a recipient phonenumber to the displayed SMS sending user interface 825, or may searchfor a desired phone number in phone book data stored in the phone bookmanager 111. Regarding the search in the phone book data, the user maysearch for a phone number by inputting a name or a number into a datainput area of “Phone Book” in the SMS sending user interface 825 of FIG.19B, may select the entire address book by selecting “All”, may selectfrequently called phone numbers by selecting “Frequent”, may select lastcalled phone numbers by selecting “Recent”, or may select phone numbersin a particular group by selecting “Group”.

If there is a phone book search request from the user, the SMSsender/receiver application 122 requests the phone book manager 111 inthe device agent 110 to search for a number in step 653. The phone bookmanager 111 searches for phone numbers based on a received searchoption, and delivers the searched phone numbers to the SMSsender/receiver application 122 in step 655. The SMS sender/receiverapplication 122 displays the received phone numbers on the SMS sendinguser interface 825, adds the phone number last selected by the useramong the phone numbers to the execution data of Table 5, and deliversthe execution data to the device agent 110 to request SMS sending instep 657. The device agent 110 delivers the received execution data tothe phone agent 210 to request SMS sending in step 659, and the phoneagent 210 delivers the received execution data to the SMSsender/receiver application 223 to request SMS sending in step 661. Inresponse, the SMS sender/receiver application 223 sends an SMS messagethat includes text content included in the execution data, as a phonenumber included in the execution data. At this time, a screen of FIG.19C may be displayed on the mobile terminal 200. Thereafter, the SMSsender/receiver application 223 sends an SMS ACK indicating theexecution of an SMS send command to the SMS sender/receiver application122 via the phone agent 210 and the device agent 110 in step 663.

A process of sending an MMS message using a text content is similar tothe process of an SMS message except that execution data is designatedas MMS sending.

As another example, a process of sending an image captured by thecomputer 100 to the mobile terminal 200 will be described with referenceto FIGS. 13 and 20A to 20C.

In the state where a web page is displayed as shown in FIG. 20A, if theuser selects a memo write menu using a context menu or a tool bar, thecontent extractor 130 extracts a URL of the web page and a time,configures execution data with the extracted data as shown in Table 6,and delivers the execution data to the image capture application 124 instep 901.

TABLE 6 Item Length Content Type 1 line Memo Writing Name 1 line PhoneNumber 1 line Attached File 1 line Date 1 line 20090123134400 URL 1 linehttp://map.google.com/ Tag, Keyword 1 line Content 1 line

The image capture application 124 provides a select window 831 on theweb page as a select indicator as shown in FIG. 20A. The user selects animage area to be captured, using the select window 831. A size of theselect window 831 is adjustable according to user preferences. If theuser inputs OK, the image capture application 124 captures a screen areadesignated by the user, stores it as an image file, adds the image fileto execution data shown in Table 6, and delivers the execution data tothe memo writer application 126 in step 903.

The memo writer application 126 configures a memo writing user interface833 according to the received execution data as shown in FIG. 20B, anddisplays the memo writing user interface 833. The user inputs additionaldata on the memo writing user interface 833 when necessary in step 905.The memo writer application 126 adds the additional data to theexecution data, and if the user selects a sending event on the memowriting user interface 833, the memo writer application 126 delivers theexecution data to the device agent 110, thereby delivering memoinformation in step 907. The device agent 110 sends the phone agent 210a control message indicating a plan to send memo write-related datathereby to request memo writing in step 909. The phone agent 210 sends aMemo ACK indicating a ready to receive memo information to the deviceagent 110 in step 911. The device agent 110 delivers the execution datato the phone agent 210 to transmit memo information in step 913.

The phone agent 210 delivers the stored memo data to the memo viewerapplication 225 in step 915, and the memo viewer application 225displays the memo or an image file on the screen of the mobile terminal200, which is shown in FIG. 20C. If the memo information transmission iscompleted, the phone agent 210 sends an ACK indicating the transmissioncompletion to the device agent 110 in step 917.

While it has been described in the above example that the captured imagefile is stored in the mobile terminal 200 by memo writing, it is alsopossible to request to transmit the captured image file through an MMSmessage.

As another example, a process of delivering a command from the mobileterminal 200 to the computer 100 will be described with reference toFIG. 14.

Referring to FIG. 14, the phone application 220 delivers information ora command which has been input by means of a phone application, to thephone agent 210 in step 951. The phone agent 210 delivers theinformation to the device agent 110 in step 953. The device agent 110sends a command to an appropriate phone service application 120 or acomputer application according to the nature of the information orcommand in step 955. An example of the command may include memo display,presentation control, document output, etc. The phone serviceapplication 120 processes the information according to the command instep 957, and delivers the results to the mobile terminal 200 using anACK in step 959.

As further another example, a process of displaying memo informationstored in the mobile terminal 200 on the computer 100 will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 15 and 16. FIG. 15 shows a process in which theFTP client 127 in the computer 100 and the FTP server 221 in the mobileterminal 200 directly exchange memo information according to anembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 16 shows a process ofexchanging memo information through the device agent 110 and the phoneagent 210.

Referring to FIG. 15, if a user event occurs, the content extractor 130executes the memo viewer application 125 in step 701. The memo viewerapplication 125 executes the FTP client 127 in step 703. Then the FTPclient 127 sends a request for a memo file to the FTP server 221 in themobile terminal 200 in step 705. In response, the FTP server 221delivers a memo file to the FTP client 127 in step 707, and the FTPclient 127 provides a File Acquire ACK to the memo viewer application125 in step 709. Then the memo viewer application 125 displays the memoin step 711.

The procedure of FIG. 16 is similar to that of FIG. 15 except that theFTP client 127 sends a request for a memo file to the FTP server 221 inthe mobile terminal 200 through the connection manager 112 in the deviceagent 110 and the connection manager 211 in the phone agent 210 in steps755 and 757, and then the FTP server 221 delivers a memo file to the FTPclient 127 via the connection manager 211 in the phone agent 210 and theconnection manager 112 in the device agent 110 in step 761. FIG. 21shows a state where any one of several memos are selected and displayedin the computer 100.

As is apparent from the foregoing description, according to embodimentsof the present invention, a user may operate functions of a mobileterminal without directly manipulating the mobile terminal. The user mayeasily use, in the mobile terminal, the data displayed on a screen of orstored in a separate electronic device like a computer that is connectedto the mobile terminal in a wired or wireless manner. In addition, in astate where the electronic device and the mobile terminal are connected,the user may execute an operation associated with a function of themobile terminal in the electronic device by manipulating only the mobileterminal, so that an event that has occurred in the mobile terminal maybe executed in the electronic device.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference tocertain exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device comprising: a display; awireless communication interface; and at least one processor configuredto: control the wireless communication interface to communicate with amobile device over a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), control thedisplay to display content on a web browser application, obtain a userinput for selecting a piece of content from the displayed content on theweb browser application, based on the selected piece of content, controlthe display to display, on the web browser application, a menu includinga plurality of items which respectively correspond to a plurality offunctions, obtain a user selection for one of the plurality of itemsincluded in the menu displayed on the web browser application, controlthe wireless communication interface to transmit, toward the mobiledevice over the WLAN, information corresponding to the selected piece ofcontent to execute a function corresponding to the selected one of theplurality of items at the mobile device, and control the display todisplay a user interface indicating that the mobile device is executingthe function corresponding to the selected one of the plurality ofitems.
 2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the user input forselecting the piece of content displayed on the web browser applicationis obtained based on placing a mouse point on the piece of contentdisplayed on the web browser application.
 3. The electronic device ofclaim 1, wherein the user input for selecting the piece of contentdisplayed on the web browser application is obtained based on a dragginginput, by a mouse, on the piece of content displayed on the web browserapplication.
 4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the at leastone processor is further configured to: identify the piece of contentfrom the displayed content on the web browser application based on theuser input for selecting the piece of content displayed on the webbrowser application, and identify the menu including the plurality ofitems based on the identifying the piece of content from the displayedcontent on the web browser application.
 5. The electronic device ofclaim 1, wherein the menu includes at least one of a voice call item, avideo call item or a message item when the selected piece of content isa phone number.
 6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the atleast one processor is further configured to: control the display todisplay the selected piece of content as a block.
 7. The electronicdevice of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to synchronize address information stored in the electronicdevice with address information stored in the mobile device.
 8. Theelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor isfurther configured to control the display to display the user interfaceindicating that the mobile device is executing the functioncorresponding to the selected one of the plurality of items based onobtaining information associated with the executing of the function fromthe mobile device.
 9. A method of an electronic device, the methodcomprising: communicating, by a wireless communication interface of theelectronic device, with a mobile device over a Wireless Local AreaNetwork (WLAN); displaying content on a web browser application on adisplay of the electronic device; obtaining a user input for selecting apiece of content from the displayed content on the web browserapplication; based on the selected piece of content, displaying, on theweb browser application, a menu including a plurality of items whichrespectively correspond to a plurality of functions; obtaining a userselection for one of the plurality of items included in the menudisplayed on the web browser application; transmitting, toward themobile device over the WLAN, information corresponding to the selectedpiece of content to execute a function corresponding to the selected oneof the plurality of items at the mobile device; and displaying a userinterface indicating that the mobile device is executing the functioncorresponding to the selected one of the plurality of items.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the user input for selecting the piece ofcontent displayed on the web browser application is obtained based onplacing a mouse point on the piece of content displayed on the webbrowser application.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the user inputfor selecting the piece of content displayed on the web browserapplication is obtained based on a dragging input, by a mouse, on thepiece of content displayed on the web browser application.
 12. Themethod of claim 9, further comprising identifying the piece of contentfrom the displayed content on the web browser application based on theuser input for selecting the piece of content displayed on the webbrowser application, and identifying the menu including the plurality ofitems based on the identifying the piece of content from the displayedcontent on the web browser application.
 13. The method of claim 9,wherein the menu includes at least one of a voice call item, a videocall item or a message item when the selected piece of content is aphone number.
 14. The method of claim 9, further comprising displayingthe selected piece of content as a block.
 15. The method of claim 9,further comprising synchronizing address information stored in theelectronic device with address information stored in the mobile device.16. The method of claim 9, further comprises displaying the userinterface indicating that the mobile device is executing the functioncorresponding to the selected one of the plurality of items based onobtaining information associated with the executing of the function fromthe mobile device.